Detachable footrest for wheel chairs



1, 1952 H. A. EVEREST ET AL 2,601,889

DETACHABLE FOOTREST FOR WHEEL CHAIRS Filed Aug. 1, 1949 #42?! C. JENNINGS,

INVENTORS Patented July 1, 1952 2,601,889 DETACHABLE FOOTREST FOR Herbert A.

WHEEL CHAIRS Everest and Harry 0. J ennings; Los 'Angeles, Calif.

lt pplication Augiist 1, 1949; Serial No. 107,874

This invention relates to a detachable footrest for wheel chairs and the like. r

An object of the invention is to provide a wheel chair foot and leg rest which can be optionally applied to a wheel chair or removedv therefrom.

Another object of the invention is to provide a detachable foot and leg rest for wheel chairs consisting essentially of a clamp that may be'applied to the leg of a conventional. wheel chair and.

which has pivotally connectedthe'reto a foot and leg rest which can be held many adjusted position by means of a brace and a'clamp engageable therewith which is pivotally' mounted upon the first-mentioned clamp. A feature of the construction resides in the fact that the clamp which is applicable to the leg of the wheel chair is so designed as to arrange the pivot for thefoot and leg rest at a pointslightly above and somewhat forwardly of the forward edge of the seat of the wheel chair so that the axis of swinging movement of the'foot and leg rest will substantially coincide with the axis of swinging movement" at the knees of the user of the chair. By such an arrangement as disclosed in our copending' application Serial No. 617,022, filed September 18, 1945, now 'Patent No. 2,520,309, considerable ease is afforded the user of the chair in all positions of adjustment of the foot and leg rest.

Many conventional. types of wheel chairs are now in general use which have arms or bars rigidly secured to. the forward sides of ,the forward legs of'ithefchair and which extend forwardly and downwardly therefrom and which have been utilized heretofore to mount "a footrest at their lower endslfTh'e' "improvedi detachable foot and leg rest is so'designed that its clamp by which it can be attached is arranged to engage this downwardly and forwardly extending arm and thus assist in holding the clamp against displacement. With the foregoing and other objects in view, which will be made manifest in the following detailed description and specifically pointed out in the; appended claims, reference is had totheaccompanying drawings for an illustrativeembodiment of the invention, wherein: v 3

Figure 1 is a partial viewin side elevation ofa portion of a conventional Wheel chair illustratin the detachable foot and leg rest embodying the present invention as having been applied thereto; Fig. 2 is a vertical section taken substantially upon the line 22 upon Fig. 1 and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken substantially upon the line 33 upon Fig. 1.

Referring to the accompanying drawings wherein similar reference characters designate 5 Claims. (01. 155-171) similar parts throughout, N] indicates a forward leg of a conventional wheel chair at the top of which there is an arm rest H. I2 indicates a side of the wheel chair-which is connected such as by rivets I3 to the leg H). The seat (not shown) for the wheel chair is positioned approximately even with the bottom of theside l2 when the chair is in expanded or extended condition at the time of use. Many conventional wheel chairs now in use have arms or bars 14 secured to the forward sides of the legslll and which extend downwardly and forwardly therefrom. These bars are usually braced at their lowerv ends as-indicated at 15 and when present have been utilized to mount a footrest thereon. f

The improved detachable footrest consists of a form of clamp composed of opposed clamping members 16 and I1. These members arefconor otherwise secured. betweenthe opposed members so that they are rigidly secured to eachother. Above thespacer the members l6 and" provide rearwardly extending ears 19 which are apertured to receive a clamping bolt 20 disposed behind the leg ID. This bolt serves to draw the opposed ears towards each other into clamping engagement upon the leg l0 it being understood that the width of the spacer I8 is substantially equal to the width or thickness of the leg 10 so that it is merely necessary to spring the'ears towards each other on tightening the bolt 20 to effect a clamping engagement. Q

The members 16 and .Il also provide above the spacer l8 a pair of angular cars 21 that extend upwardly and forwardly soas to position a pivot pin 22 supported thereby slightly above and some A foot and leg rest is pivoted by means of the pivot pin 22 between the angular ears 2|. This foot and legrest consists of a tubular'member 23 that is preferably angular in form and which has adjustably mounted thereon by means of a spring 36.. The brace 3| be removed in'the converse manner.

senses Both clamping members 16 and I1 have downwardly extending extensions 29 and 30, the extension 29 which is on the outer side of the leg I being somewhat longer than the extension 30. Both of these extensions, however, are designed to extend downwardly across the sides of the arm or bar l4 thus utilizing-the-bar as a means for steadying the clamp formed by the members I3 and I1 and the spacer l8 and cooperating with the clamping cars 19 in resisting rotation of the clamp with relation to the leg l8. A brace 3| is pivotally mounted on the arm 23 and extends rearwardly through a punch clamp 32' that is pivotally mounted on the extension 29. This clamp merely consists of an angular member 33 pivotally mounted as at 34 onthe extension 29. A cooperative clamping member 35 has its lower end positioned adjacent the knuckle on the angular member 33 which surrounds the pivot pin and is urged into spaced relation from the member 33 byan intervening compression slidably extends through both of these members and when the clamp 32 is released the clamp is efiective to bind upon and lock. the brace against sliding movementrelatively thereto. The surface of the brace may be knurled or roughened to assist in this binding or gripping action.

When it is desired to apply the detachable foot and leg rest embodying the present invention to a conventional wheel chair the extensions 29 and 38 are merely slipped over the top of the bar [4. The ears [9 are slipped rearwardly over the leg i8 and the clampingbolt is applied and tightened. The foot and leg rest can 7 g The clamp 32 being mounted on the extension 29 is. of course, applied and removed as part of the priman} or main clamp. Downward movement of the main clamp with relation to the leg is, of

course, resisted by the spacer [8 which may engage the top of the bar [4 if the ears l9 are not adequately clamped. Also the engagement of the extensions 29 and with the bar I will hold the primary clamp against rotation relative to'the leg 10 in the event that the bolt 20 should loosen.

'Various changes may be made in the details of construction without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims. We claim: 1. A detachable footrest for wheel chairs'comprising a pair of opposed members, a spacer secured between theme mb'ers spacing them approximately the widthoi the leg of the wheel chair, to which it is applicable, there being ears on said members extending rearwardly from adjacent the spacer, a bolt receivable therethrough for tightening said members in clamping relation on' the leg, and ears on said members disposed upwardly and forwardly of the spacenand a foot and leg rest pivotally mounted between the last mentioned ears.

2. A detachable footrest for wheel chairs comprising a pair of opposed members, a spacer secured between the members spacing them ap- 4 proximately the width of the leg of the wheel chair to which it is applicable, there being ears on said members extending rearwardly from adjacent the spacer, a bolt receivable therethrough for tightening said members in clamping relation on the leg, and ears on said members disposed upwardly and forwardly of the spacer, and a foot and leg rest pivotally'mounted between the last mentioned ears, said members having downwardly extending extensions adapted to be positioned against opposite sides of an arm or bar extending downwardly and forward- 1y from the leg'of the chair.

3. A detachable footrest for wheel chairs comprising a pair of opposed members, a spacer secured between the members spacing them approximately the width of the leg of the wheel chair to which it is applicable, there being ears on said members extending rearwardly from adjacent the spacer, a bolt receivable therethrough for tightening said members in clamping relation on the leg,- and ears on said members disposed upwardly and forwardly of the spacer, a foot and leg rest pivotally mounted between the last mentioned cars, a brace pivotally secured to the leg rest, and a clamp pivotally mounted upon the outermost of said members engageable with the brace to hold the brace in adjusted position.

4. A detachable foot and leg rest for wheel chairs comprising a clamp applicable to a leg of the wheel chair, a foot and leg rest pivotally mounted upon said clamp, a brace pivotally connected to the foot and leg rest, and a clamp on the first mentioned clamp engageable with the brace to hold the brace in adjusted position.

5. A detachable foot and leg rest for wheel chairs comprising a pair of opposed members, a spacer secured between the members spacing them approximately the width of the leg of the wheel chair to which it is applicable, downwardly extending extensions on said members below the spacer, rearwardly extending clamping ears on said members adjacent the spacer, a clamping bolt connecting the clamping cars, a pair of angular ears extending upwardly and forwardly from the spacer, a foot and leg rest, pivotally mounted upon the last mentioned cars, a brace pivotally connected to the footand leg rest and a clamp pivotally mounted upon the outermost of said members'engage'able with the brace for holding the brace in adjusted position with respect' to said members; v

' HERBERT ALEVEREST.

HARRYC. JENNINGS.

REFERENCES GITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent: 

